299 replies to this topic

[JSteigs]

Siberia express is to be replaced soon at squaw valley. No word on if it's this summer or later or weather or not it will be a turn key or self install by squaw. I know there has been some investment in the project already, they had surveyors from Dopplemeyer come out last summer.

[LuvPow]

trooper1556, on Mar 17 2009, 07:43 AM, said:

I'm not aware of the specifics, but i do know that the reason Wildhorse went from a pulse design to a detachable was because SSRC/Intrawest wanted to use the gondola for people parking in the meadows lot - and more importantly for access to future development in / around that lot on property Intrawest owns. So I'm sure they are chipping in.

If it goes it will be similar to the Telluride Gondola set-up... the Developers are paying for installation, but it will be staffed and run by Steamboat ski area.

[Peter]

Cannon has gained approval to reopen the Mittersill side of the mountain (shown in pink on the map.) They will allow skiing there from the existing lifts starting on Saturday. The plan at one point was to put in a new lift or renovate the old Hall double this coming summer. Anyone know if this will happen?

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[Jonni]

It may happen, but in a way I kind of doubt it. The State of NH is in the same economic mess that everyone else is, and they've been cutting things from here and there to make ends meet (at least this is what I have figured from different news reports). Although, the NH state parks system is entirely self supporting so there is still a chance that it will happen due to the fact that they will still receive moneys from park revenues as well as the lease of Mt. Sunapee (which they get a fixed amount plus a percentage of profits I believe).

[Peter]

DMR to delay Lift 8 upgrade
Ski area plans to add 150 acres for glade skiing
by Shane Benjamin
Herald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated; Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort has postponed plans to upgrade Lift 8 this year as a result of the frozen credit markets.

Instead, the resort will focus on expanding skiable terrain on both sides of Lift 8, said Gary Derck, DMR's chief executive officer.

"I wish I could tell you when the lift will make sense financially," Derck said. "Unfortunately, it's just beyond our control."

The resort has experienced a "decent" year in terms of skier visits, he said, but late last year was a difficult time to finance big-ticket items such as ski lifts.

"We're a great resort doing better than we've done in years, but what do you do when you don't control the credit markets?" Derck said. "It is our No. 1 project. We're still very committed to it."

The U.S. Forest Service approved the creation of new trails and an upgrade to Lift 8 in September, about the same time Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and the lending market froze up.

Had final approval come sooner, the resort may have obtained financing last year, and the lift would have been installed this year, Derck said.

A new high-speed lift must be ordered nine months in advance of its installation, making it impossible to install the lift until summer 2010, at the earliest, Derck said.

In the meantime, the resort will focus on opening up about 150 acres west of Lift 8 to glade skiing. It also will identify new trails between Lift 5 and Lift 8, he said. Projects that don't require lending will go forward as planned.

The resort is authorized to remove up to 15 percent of live trees in the glade area, but that may take several years to complete, said Matt Janowiak, acting district ranger for the Columbine District.

"It looks like they're going to take a slow-and-steady approach to development on the west side," he said. "Then you end up with really nice glade skiing like what they have at Wolf Creek."

The resort is expected to identify trees for removal and begin removal in April while there still is snow on the ground. That way, trees can be dragged out by snowcats, which is the preferred method because it causes less damage to the tundra.

If the resort can't remove trees before the snow melts, it can use heavy equipment this summer, but DMR must follow Forest Service guidelines with respect to protecting the tundra, Janowiak said.

"Our folks are ready to go up there and start marking trees," he said.

Jennifer Rudolf, spokeswoman at Colorado Ski Country USA, was unaware of any other resorts in the state that delayed improvements as a result of the economic downturn.

The ski industry tends to be rather resilient during tough economic times, she said.

"Despite the economy, people seem dedicated and wanting to go out and ski," she said.

[Peter]

Darien developer moves forward with ski area
By Michael C. Juliano
Posted: 03/24/2009 09:11:49 PM EDT


A Darien developer has swapped pieces of property with a municipality in upstate New York as part of its plan to create a new ski village in the Adirondacks.

FrontStreet Mountain Development LLC has given an 11.45-acre parcel it bought in 2005 to the town of Johnsburg, N.Y., in exchange for eight acres of land adjacent to Gore Mountain, a state-owned ski area in nearby North Creek, N.Y. The developer plans to use the land and another 430 acres it owns to construct historic North Creek Ski Bowl Village, a year-round sporting club community that will include inns, hotels, 131 townhouses, restaurants, an equestrian center, retail space and a nine-hole golf course.

Gore Mountain will use the FrontStreet property -- known as the Ski Lift Parcel -- to build a new triple chairlift to reopen the North Creek Ski Bowl, which opened in the 1930s as one of the country's first commercial ski areas but closed in the 1970s.

The new lift will allow North Creek Ski Bowl, also the location of one of the country's first ski patrols, and Gore Mountain to come together as one of the largest ski areas in the Northeast. It will bring significant revenue to Johnsburg and surrounding towns, said Mac Crikelair, FrontStreet's property manager.

"This is a huge initiative that the town fathers had been trying to get done for decades," he said.

The property trades between FrontStreet and Johnsburg are part of an agreement made in 2005 for FrontStreet to give 64 acres
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over the next couple years to the town of 2,700 residents for public skiing in exchange for the eight acres, Crikelair said.

"This is the first piece," he said.

Construction of the Ski Bowl Village, which is expected to start in the spring, will take seven to 10 years and cost $250 million. It has been in the planning for several years and has not been hampered by the lagging economy, Crikelair said.

"I think it will affect the buyers to some degree, but we're still moving forward," he said. "We're going to have a casual groundbreaking here, and we'll see what happens."

The availability of the Ski Lift Parcel will allow Gore Mountain to add another trail to two already at the Ski Bowl, said Mike Pratt, mountain manager at Gore Mountain.

"We're looking forward to making some modern turns on some historic trails," he said.

The ski area's growth is expected to help Johnsburg's downtown, where a hotel, a restaurant and a ski shop have closed in the past few years, Town Supervisor Sterling Goodspeed said.

"It will bring thousands of skiers into our business district," he said, adding that 15 new businesses already have started up in the midst of the recession. "We are trending against the tide, and that can be attributed to the anticipated expansion of the Gore Mountain Ski Area."

[Peter]

An updated list:

1 Northstar-at-Tahoe Doppelmayr CTEC Pulse Gondola Ritz-Carlton
2 Northstar-at-Tahoe Doppelmayr CTEC Quad Bear Paw
3 Sun Valley, ID Doppelmayr CTEC Gondola 8 River Run Gondola
4 Whistler Blackcomb Doppelmayr CTEC High Speed Quad Timing Flats
5 Marmot Basin, AB Leitner-Poma High Speed Quad Tranquilizer Express
6 Roosevelt Island Tram, NY Leitner-Poma Tram Roosevelt Island Tram
7 Bruce Mound, WI Used Superior Tramway Triple
8 Eaglecrest, AK Used Riblet Double Mid Mountain
9 Sleeping Giant, WY Used Yan Triple
10 The Summit at Snoqualmie, WA Used Riblet Triple Hyak
11 Edelweiss Valley, QC Used Poma Quad
12 Steamboat, CO Doppelmayr CTEC Gondola 8 Wildhorse Gondola
13 Gore Mountain, NY Triple North Creek Connector

[RibStaThiok]

Glad to know that the Legends lift at Durango will be around for a few more years! She's a 24 year old Poma Tripple but runs jussssssssssst fine!

http://www.skilifts.org/images/resort_imag...nds/legends.htm

[Andoman]

RibStaThio, on Mar 28 2009, 11:46 AM, said:

Glad to know that the Legends lift at Durango will be around for a few more years! She's a 24 year old Poma Tripple but runs jussssssssssst fine!

http://www.skilifts.org/images/resort_imag...nds/legends.htm

I guess I never realized that poma terminal design has been around that long.

[skierdude9450]

Yeah the Alpha is probably the longest lasting terminal style. 1982-Present.

[jaytrem]

Looks like the new Northstar gondola has a name...

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...n1.4b08f7a.html

Highlands Express Gondola

[LuvPow]

Nakiska in Alberta... LP detach Quad, 19 towers

[Peter]

1 Northstar-at-Tahoe Doppelmayr CTEC Pulse Gondola Highlands Express Gondola
2 Northstar-at-Tahoe Doppelmayr CTEC Quad Bear Paw
3 Steamboat, CO Doppelmayr CTEC Gondola 8 Wildhorse Gondola
4 Sun Valley, ID Doppelmayr CTEC Gondola 8 River Run Gondola
5 Whistler Blackcomb, BC Doppelmayr CTEC High Speed Quad Timing Flats
6 Marmot Basin, AB Leitner-Poma High Speed Quad Tranquilizer Express
7 Nakiska, AB Leitner-Poma High Speed Quad
8 Roosevelt Island, NY Leitner-Poma Tram Roosevelt Island Tram
9 Edelweiss Valley, QC Used Poma Quad
10 Eaglecrest, AK Used Riblet Double Mid Mountain
11 The Summit at Snoqualmie, WA Used Riblet Triple Hyak
12 Bruce Mound, WI Used Superior Tramway Triple
13 Sleeping Giant, WY Used Yan Triple
14 Gore Mountain, NY Triple North Creek Connector

[WBSKI]

Aussierob, on Feb 27 2009, 02:04 PM, said:

The big reason for adding another lift is to increase capacity out of Creekside. The existing lift is only about 1850 pph so the line ups can be large.

Just wondering, how is the timing flats lift going to increase capacity out of Creekside if it doesn't connect with any other lifts, or would this lift be extended in the future?

BTW: This is totally just a guess but I wouldn't be surprised if Silver Star replaced Summit Chair this summer or next since they announce they were planning this on their website a few years back.

[Aussierob]

The timing flats lift is purely to get olympic spectators from the valley to the alpine ski race finish area. In the summer of 2010 it will be removed and become the Strawberry Express at Jasper, AB.

[SkiBachelor]

Does anyone else think it's a big waste of money to install a HSQ that's only going to be used for two weeks and then removed when a simpler solution is to use a snowcat?

It just grips me how people can waste money like this, especially when it's not their own, but rather tha tax payers.

This also opens up a bigger can of worms when Marmot Basin is installing a L-P HSQ this summer and then installing the Doppelmayr CTEC Timing Flats HSQ a year later.

Sorry for the rant, but things like this make no sense to me and if someone could explain it, that would be graet!

[hoodoo]

Aussierob, on Apr 1 2009, 10:12 PM, said:

The timing flats lift is purely to get olympic spectators from the valley to the alpine ski race finish area. In the summer of 2010 it will be removed and become the Strawberry Express at Jasper, AB.

The lift is being moved to Sunshine, AB.. not Jasper

[Peter]

New chairlift deal signed

BY MICHAEL JOHNSTONE
Staff writer

RED RIVER — Red River Ski Area’s venerable Red Chairlift, a two-seater manufactured by Ribblet, will be replaced this summer by a fixed-grip triple chairlift.
“We have signed the contract and Dopplemayr is ready to start manufacturing the lift,” said Denny Judycki, President and General Manager of Red River Ski Area (RRSA). The components for the chairlift will be built in Salt Lake City by Dopplemayr CTEC, then shipped to Red River and installed.
The new multi-million dollar lift will reduce the ride time from 15 and a half minutes to just over 11 minutes. The 50 percent increase in uphill capacity will carry approximately 1,800 people per hour skyward.
The management team at RRSA spent many months debating which kind of chairlift would best serve the area, including consulting with a variety of ski industry experts, before deciding on the triple chairlift.
According to a ski area press release, “Ultimately, the triple chair will provide easier loading than the quad, has the ability to be run at a faster speed, there is less spacing between the chairs, and for summer operations, downloading would be every third chair rather than every fourth. Overall, a fixed-grip triple will provide much more efficient operations than a fixed-grip quad.”
Judycki said the choice was between fixed-grip chairlifts. “A detachable chairlift was never on the radar screen,” he said. Detachable chairlifts are able to run at faster speeds because the chairs detach from the main rope and slow down to load and unload passengers.
The new lift will run clockwise, and passengers will be able to ski directly into the loading station without having to make a 90 degree right-hand turn. The lift will have 25 towers, while the old Red Chairlift utilized 44 towers. Three of the eliminated towers are currently in the Pot O’ Gold terrain park, just below the Broadway mid-station. The “quarter-way” mid-station at the top of The Face will be eliminated, but a new midway unloading station will be built.
Removal of the existing lift will start in April as soon as the weather permits. The new chairlift is expected to be ready in 2010 for RRSA’s traditional opening day, the day before Thanksgiving.

A long process
The ski area has been working with the Carson National Forest Service to obtain the proper permits because the chairlift, with the exception of the bottom terminal, will be located on National Forest Service land.
The Forest Service used a type of analysis called a Categorical Exclusion for the project. This exclusion was chosen because the new lift will be replacing an existing lift, therefore minimal impact to the environment is expected.
“We were very pleased with the Forest Service. We appreciated their support and the fact they were able to make a judgment in a timely manner,” said Judycki.
The name for the new chairlift has not been decided, nor has the color for the top and bottom terminals. “We are working on a couple of ideas, but nothing is definite yet,” said Judycki. He also mentioned that personnel from Dopplemayr CTEC stated sometimes determining a color is one of the most challenging decisions for a ski area.
RRSA will operate the normal summer schedule of chairlift rides, but will base the operation from the Copper Chair, located a few blocks east on Gift Edge Trail.

[Peter]

So is the Timing Flats high speed quad at Whistler going to be Doppelmayr CTEC or Leitner-Poma? W-B has been going with Doppelmayr CTEC recently but Sunshine Village has all Poma lifts currently. I'm a little surprised W-B wouldn't use it somewhere else on Whistler or Blackcomb after the Olympics, although maybe it is the Olympic Committee that will buy/sell it.

[Peter]

2 New lifts for Bridger Bowl!

Both the Bridger and Deer Park lifts at Bridger Bowl are for sale on Summit Lift Co.'s website, listed as being removed Spring 2009 and being replaced by a higher capacity model.

http://www.summitliftco.net/images/Deer_Pa...for_Sale_2_.pdf
http://www.summitliftco.net/images/Bridger...For_Sale_1_.pdf

As for what type these lifts will be, here is what the 2005 Forest Service Record of Decision said:
"The Bridger and Deer Park chairlifts will be modified or replaced within their existing
alignments. The Bridger chair lift will be replaced with a fixed grip triple lift. It will have a
design capacity of 1,800 skier visits per hour. Initial installation will accommodate 1,200 skier
visits per hour. The Deer Park lift will be shortened down to a 7,380 foot elevation to alleviate
the anticipated crowding created by increasing the capacity of the Bridger lift. Shortening this
lift will also improve early season operations, provide access from Pierre's Knob terrain to the
Deer Park Chalet, accommodate race training, and make groomed ski slopes more available to
beginning skiers."

The list as it currently stands
1 Bridger Bowl, MT Doppelmayr CTEC Triple Deer Park
2 Bridger Bowl, MT Doppelmayr CTEC Triple Bridger
3 Northstar-at-Tahoe Doppelmayr CTEC Pulse Gondola Highlands Express Gondola
4 Northstar-at-Tahoe Doppelmayr CTEC Quad Bear Paw
5 Red River, NM Doppelmayr CTEC Triple Red
6 Steamboat, CO Doppelmayr CTEC Gondola 8 Wildhorse Gondola
7 Sun Valley, ID Doppelmayr CTEC Gondola 8 River Run Gondola
8 Whistler Blackcomb, BC Doppelmayr CTEC High Speed Quad Timing Flats
9 Marmot Basin, AB Leitner-Poma High Speed Quad Tranquilizer Express
10 Nakiska, AB Leitner-Poma High Speed Quad
11 Roosevelt Island, NY Leitner-Poma Tram Roosevelt Island Tram
12 Edelweiss Valley, QC Used Poma Quad
13 Eaglecrest, AK Used Riblet Double Mid Mountain
14 The Summit at Snoqualmie, WA Used Riblet Triple Hyak
15 Bruce Mound, WI Used Superior Tramway Triple
16 Sleeping Giant, WY Used Yan Triple
17 Gore Mountain, NY Triple North Creek Connector